“The progress WEDC has made in its financial management is encouraging, but there are areas that still require significant improvement, said Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem). “The audit recommendations are immediately valuable...

Madison: Today, Rep. Samantha Kerkman (R-Randall) has proposed a bill that will help prevent infant deaths from unsafe sleep conditions and create a penalty for those who cosleep with an infant while intoxicated.

The proposed bill would make several changes to state law. First, the bill would make it a felony to harm or kill an infant by cosleeping while intoxicated. Also, the bill requires that new parents receive educational materials about safe sleep practices and the dangers of intoxicated cosleeping before they are discharged from the hospital with their new baby. Finally, high schools would be required to provide instruction about cosleeping while intoxicated to students in one of grades 10 or 12.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ten children died in 2012 from unsafe sleep conditions and ten have died so far in 2013.

“In the two years I have been developing this legislation, this issue has really concerned me as a mother of young children,” said Rep. Kerkman. “Safe sleep conditions are so important for babies, and deaths by intoxicated cosleeping are so tragic and preventable. That is my goal by putting forward this legislation, to keep babies safe by preventing cosleeping deaths and hold accountable those adults who put babies at risk by dangerously bed-sharing while intoxicated.”

The legislation was first suggested by the Kenosha County District Attorney after a tragic cosleeping death that occurred in Kenosha County in 2011. Since that time, Rep. Kerkman has been working to develop the current bill draft.

“I welcome input from stakeholders as this legislation makes its way through the legislative process,” Rep. Kerkman continued. “I want to bring awareness to the seriousness of this issue.”